Alexander and Priscilla PECKOVER

Introduction

The PECKOVER family of
Wisbech is famous in Cambridgeshire. They were a Quaker banking family who
lent their support to many local institutions and were instrumental in founding,
and subsequently funding, several of them. Their most mportant legacy is the
Peckover Estate, now managed by the National Trust.

William and Algernon Peckover
were founder members of the Wisbech Museum prodiving to us genophiles a great
antiquarian collection of national and international repute, including the
housing of many of the Isle of Ely's parish records.

Dennis has provided us
with an excellent overview of two of the Peckovers, Lord Alexander and his
sister Priscilla (who nearly won the Nobel Peace Prize!!)

Alexander Peckover
(1830-1919)

Alexander
Peckover (born Wisbech, Cambridgeshire Aug. 16, 1830, died Oct. 21,
1919 Wisbech) LDS film #1903274. Married Eliza Sharples April 8, 1858
or June 8, 1858 in Wisbech. Alexander attended school at Grove House,
Tottenham, now part of the north of London, beginning in 1843. The school
was a forerunner of Leighton Park School, and closed permanently in
1874. Taking command of the Peckover family's substantial banking interests
in the mid-1800’s from his aging father, Alexander Peckover emerged
as the wealthiest and most powerful of all the Peckovers and in 1893
was named to the largely ceremonial post of Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire,
a title he held until 1906. Alexander was the first Quaker in British
history to hold such an exalted post. From the time of Cromwell, or
perhaps earlier, the Lord Lieutenant of a county was the commander of
the local militia, traditionally responsible for mustering militiamen
for service in times of crisis. As the Crown’s senior representative
in the county, a Lord Lieutenant was -- and still is -- required to
escort visiting members of the Royal Family, in uniform. Alexander obtained
a special dispensation to do his escorting in civvies. Then, in 1907,
Alexander became a titled gentleman, named Baron Peckover of Wisbech
in recognition of his years of service to Cambridgeshire. Over the years,
the Right Honourable Alexander spent a fortune converting Bank House
in Wisbech into a truly baronial home. He refurnished the interior and
added a library that became the repository for one of the largest private
literary collections ever assembled in Britain. Alexander and the rest
of the Peckovers under his leadership teamed up with the Penrose family
to turn their banking and other interests into a major force, a union
that was sealed by the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to a Penrose
in 1893. Elizabeth was one of three rather amazing daughters resulting
from Alexander’s marriage to Eliza Sharples. But there were no sons.
That meant he had no one who could inherit the title following his death
in 1919, and the barony has ceased to exist. The Peckover banking interests
eventually became one of the cornerstones of what is now Barclays Bank.

Priscilla Peckover
1833-1931

Priscilla
Hannah Peckover (born Wisbech Oct. 27, 1833 died in Wisbech in 1931).
A sister of Baron Alexander Peckover of Wisbech, Priscilla carried on
the family’s strong Quaker traditions. She was recorded a minister of
the Society of Friends (Quakers) on Nov. 20, 1877, and devoted much
of her life to the peace movement, even through the First World War.
She believed that every person had a duty to perform in consolidating
public opinion against war. In 1878 she formed the Wisbech Peace Association
to promote the development of women in work for peace. This group of
men and women, eventually growing from hundreds to thousands, became
a centre for peace activity. They concentrated on establishing peace
by means of arbitration and disarmament. The organizers of the Wisbech
Peace Association condemned war based on Christian theology. To further
mutual understanding and internationalism the association published
many tracts of short moral tales and worked with peace organizations
in other countries. Through a member of the society they were joined
by a Baptist congregation in the north of France and by a group of German
Baptists at Wiesbaden. Priscilla Peckover also contacted groups in Scandinavia,
Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark. She never married and died at
the age of 98 in Wisbech. In the years that followed the Great War,
Priscilla was once short-listed for the Nobel Peace Prize, but she did
not win.

Joanne
Hughe's has supplied the following information:

Here
is a picture of Lady Priscilla Peckover, given to Joseph Lawrence Near
of Wisbech, Cambs. She was present at his marriage to Agnes Leach of
Kirtling, Suffolk. They were married in the Friends Meeting House in
Wisbech 14 Dec 1905. Lord Alexander Peckover and Lady Priscilla Peckover
signed their Quaker marriage document. The enclosed note (see right)
was written to Joseph Lawrence Near. Note the date is written as II
XII 1905, and the usage of "thee" and "thyself". Those who signed the
marriage document were: (* indicates family member).